Category: News

General game developing news and updates.

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LawBreakers shutting down in September following Boss Key closure

Boss Key Productions’ multiplayer shooter LawBreakers will shut down later this year on September 14.

The news comes shortly after Boss Key founder Cliff Bleszinski announced the studio would be closing its doors, with LawBreakers struggling to find an audience since launching in August 2017. 

Writing on the Steam forums, the LawBreakers team explained it has no choice but to sunset the competitive shooter due to Boss Key’s demise.

The title will be made free-to-play for all players until it’s shut down later this year, although all in-game purchases have been disabled as it enters the final stretch.

“We truly appreciate your understanding in this difficult time and we want to thank you all your support and being a part of the passionate LawBreakers community,” wrote the team. “Thank you for staying with us throughout this journey.”

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Killing Floor developer Tripwire launches new publishing division

Killing Floor and Rising Storm developer Tripwire Interactive has opened a new publishing division to help other indie studios bring their projects to market. 

The U.S. studio claims its publishing model will be “truly collaborative,” and will encompass multiple genres across a variety of platforms. 

It intends to tailor each publishing deal specifically for each partner and their game, and will offer access to funding and marketing resources, along with feedback from members of the Tripwire team. 

“With the thousands of games released each year it takes more than just a great game to rise above the noise,” said Tripwire president, John Gibson, who’ll head up the new division.

“Our unique experience designing, developing, marketing and self-publishing successful games combined with offering the type of fair deals that we like to get where both developer and publisher succeed together will help elevate partner studios and their games to new levels of success and propel their games to break through the noise.”

The studio has already signed two games under its new label: open-world action RPG, Maneater, and racing combat title, Road Redemption.

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Review: Sir Questionnaire

Sir Questionnaire is on a quest, a quest that rather unsurprisingly, involves responding to questions. Don’t worry; you will not be needing a brain the size of a planet as each question only has two options.  Run or fight? Head left, or right? Buy or don’t buy? Search or move on? Your answers will help determine your progress in this rapid roguelike adventure.

Sir Questionnaire himself is not your typical dungeon delver, being a rather elderly gent who sports a topper and monocle. However, do not let these cultured sensibilities fool you, since our hero is more than happy to exchange the posh surroundings of the Kit-Kat Club in favour of a dank dungeon. He swaps his dapper cane for a sword or spell-casting wand without so much as raising an eyebrow. Before entering the dungeon, Sir Q must first choose a quest. These are randomly generated and arranged into three levels of difficulty. An easy quest may have you searching for a couple of skulls, whilst a difficult one may require the demise of a handful of fearsome orcs. The advantage of completing a more difficult quest is that when you eventually die or actually defeat the final boss, you will start the next game with many more items already in your inventory.

Portrait

Each level of the dungeon has a set of randomly generated rooms that Sir Q has to make his way through. He will be grabbing loot, killing monsters and, in a nod to the modern world, taking lots and lots of photographs. He may prefer a walking stick to a selfie-stick but there are plenty of photo opportunities here, enabling our hero to fill his albums with pictures of all of the monsters and items that he encounters during his journey. Indeed, completing the collection is a big incentive to repeatedly return to the dungeon’s depths.

Battles are turn-based and handled with the minimum amount of fuss. Most monsters only take a hit or two before exploding into a satisfying splatter of blood or goo. As well as equipping a weapon, Sir Q can also have a shield at the ready, alongside other items such as magical rings. During combat, you are free to swap and change items in your inventory or recover health without fear of being attacked. Sir Q has several characteristics that can help him defeat enemies. These can be improved as his experience grows. His attack ability will determine the damage he inflicts with melee weapons and increases the durability of an equipped shield. Meanwhile, his magic rating increases the damage inflicted by magic weapons and also the longevity and power of magic items. A high agility rating will increase his chance of hitting fast moving enemies such as spiders and also improves the likelihood of him fleeing combat without being hit. His luck level has an impact in numerous ways, such as improving the chance of finding rare items or of selecting the most favourable option. Finally, his craft skill increases the durability of equipped items and alchemy enhances the value of coins.

Shop2

The graphics are displayed in a small window and the resolution is so low that at first glance they look a bit of a mess. However, much like those magic eye puzzles, once your eyes get accustomed to the style you begin to work out what is going on and realise that they do have a certain charm. I felt like I was playing an early Gameboy Color game. Sound consists of some dramatic battle music and a hilariously over the top booming voice that introduces you to some of the dungeon’s many denizens and events. The action can be viewed in both portrait and landscape modes. The portrait mode works best with phones whilst landscape is ideal for larger devices. Landscape mode does reduce the size of the already small action window, but this provides enough extra space to also include the inventory on just a single screen. This is quite handy as swapping between weapons and equipment is something that you will be doing on a regular basis. All equipment has a limited lifespan, so you don’t want to damage your best weapon taking out a weak enemy when a rap from your trusty walking stick would be just effective.

During the time that I have been playing the game, the designer has already added a load of new content. In fact, these updates have come so thick and fast that I feared I would never actually finish the review. Each one has ushered in significant improvements, resolving many of the game’s teething problems and added some impressive new features. There is now a range of achievements and additional objectives that will unlock new character classes. Some monsters are more sociable, sometimes showing up in groups, rather than just singularly. They also have different traits, such as being exhausted, or deadly. This really helps add some extra variety and interest, especially as the monsters themselves are a rather generic bunch of the usual dungeon inhabitants. In the first version, you could encounter and defeat the boss after only a few levels, which was all a bit of an anti-climax. Now, the boss tends to lurk on much deeper levels of the dungeon. I like the fact that you stand a good chance of actually winning – most roguelikes tend to be hard as nails, and your inevitable death is often down to running low on supplies and health, which is a pretty dreary way to go.

Chatting

Even after a few successful runs, Sir Questionnaire maintains interest with both the photography task and several secrets to unearth. There are numerous special rooms such as altars and throne rooms, each with their own secrets. Also, some monsters will react if you drop specific items in their vicinity. These secrets can be discovered by experimentation and listening to the odd characters you encounter. The new additions really add to the game and with more updates on the horizon the future looks really promising. 

For some, Sir Questionnaire will be just too casual and undemanding to maintain interest. The decisions are simple, and the constant switching of inventory items can also get a little tiresome. However, for the rest of us, this is without question a spiffing release. The developers, Orange Pixel, are making a name for themselves for producing condensed fast-paced roguelikes. In many ways, Sir Questionnaire feels even more stripped back than Pocket Tactics favourite, Space Grunts.  They have again managed to capture that magic ingredient, producing a game that it is both quick and compulsive, as you rapidly move from room to room with the tap of a button or two. Sir Questionnaire serves up progress and rewards in a quick and addictive flurry of activity.

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Nintendo smashes E3 with 2018 lineup, details about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Nintendo smashes E3 with 2018 lineup, details about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Nintendo opened its activities for the annual E3 2018 video game trade show with a bang – and a smash. Showing world-first footage of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo shared details about the latest entry in a series with sales of more than 40 million units worldwide. A new game built for the Nintendo Switch system, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lets up to eight players square off in action-packed battles that are all about smashing beloved video game characters off the screen. Legendary game worlds and fighters collide in the ultimate showdown at E3 2018, which runs through June 14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Nintendo made its announcements during its Nintendo Direct: E3 2018 video presentation, which can be viewed at https://e3.nintendo.com.

“At E3, we’re showing how Nintendo Switch continues to redefine play, with the broadest range of games people can enjoy together anytime, anywhere,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO. “Fans who’ve debated which Super Smash Bros. fighter is the best now have the chance to settle their differences once and for all, pitting familiar faces against fresh challengers on stages both new and old. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, and the arrival of Epic’s Fortnite on Nintendo Switch demonstrate the strong momentum Nintendo Switch continues to have through 2018 and beyond.”

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will include every single fighter ever featured in the series’ nearly two-decade run, making it one of the biggest crossover events in gaming history. Fans can enjoy returning favorites like Ice Climbers and Pokémon Trainer, as well as newly announced fighters like Ridley from the Metroid series and Inkling from the Splatoon series. The game supports a variety of controller options, including Nintendo GameCube controllers (original or newly designed), Joy-Con controllers or the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. With Nintendo Switch, players can throw down whenever and wherever they like in Handheld or Tabletop mode while enjoying online play.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate combines many stages and new items, with gameplay that makes it easy for players of all skill levels to jump in. All current Super Smash Bros. series amiibo figures are compatible with the game, and any fighter’s amiibo figure from other series will also be supported. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is set to launch on Dec. 7, exclusively for Nintendo Switch. It is being developed by Nintendo, Sora, Ltd. and BANDAI NAMCO Studios, and is directed by Masahiro Sakurai.

Nintendo also announced that Fortnite, the Battle Royale phenomenon from Epic Games, is available for Nintendo Switch – TODAY. Players can download it for free from the Nintendo eShop, then test their mettle in thrilling crucibles of combat. The action never stops with Fortnite on Nintendo Switch, where players can build and battle together anytime, anywhere. Team up online with friends in the same room or around the world. Weekly updates and new gameplay modes will keep the action fresh for seasoned Fortnite players and newcomers alike.

At its E3 booth this week in the Los Angeles Convention Center, Nintendo will give attendees their first chance to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, two Pokémon games launching for the Nintendo Switch system on Nov. 16 at a suggested retail price of $59.99 each. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! are a new way to experience Pokémon that lets players adventure with their partner Pokémon in the vibrant Kanto region, discover fresh and exciting Pokémon encounters and Trainer battles, as well as share the adventure cooperatively with a friend anytime, anywhere on one Nintendo Switch system. Players can even transfer Kanto region Pokémon into the game from the Pokémon GO app. These games serve as an entry point to the Pokémon series for newcomers, but they also provide fun and engaging experiences for Pokémon fans of all ages. A new accessory, called Poké Ball Plus, comes with Mythical Pokémon, Mew and is sold separately from the games. Poké Ball Plus includes a pressable analog stick and button, so players can control the new games entirely with the accessory, if they want. Nintendo is announcing two bundles, in which players can get Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! with one Poké Ball Plus at a suggested retail price of $99.99 each.

Other upcoming items announced during the Nintendo Direct include:

  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Expansion Pass owners also will gain access to Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country to be released on Sept. 14. In this new story mode, players uncover the full history of Jin and the fall of his homeland, Torna, which existed 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . This new storyline also will be available as a stand-alone retail package on Sept. 21. Full purchase details can be found at Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country.
  • Super Mario Party: Inspired by the original Mario Party board game play, the beloved series is coming to Nintendo Switch with new mini-games and play styles that make use of the Joy-Con controllers. Super Mario Party includes features like character-exclusive Dice Blocks that add depth to players’ strategy. Up to four players take turns rolling the dice, and individually race across the board searching for Stars. In Toad’s Rec Room, new gameplay links two games and two Nintendo Switch systems for side-by-side fun. The game launches Oct. 5.
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses: A new episode of the Fire Emblem series comes to Nintendo Switch for the first time in spring of 2019. The player can maneuver the main character freely and interact with other characters to build relationships and gather information at various points within the game. This turn-based tactical RPG will put new strategic twists on battling, with formations of troops supporting individual units on the battlefield. Players will get to know three main characters – Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude – who play key roles in the story.
  • DAEMON X MACHINA: A new fast-paced mech action game from Kenichiro Tsukuda is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2019. Players take their customizable Arsenal powered suit on a variety of missions to thwart the enemy at all costs. They can choose and equip their Arsenal with a multitude of weapons, obtain more from downed enemies and swap them on the fly to suit their strategy in the face of ever-changing threats.
  • Overcooked! 2: The kitchen mayhem returns in this sequel from Team17 and Ghost Town Games that’s brimming with even more recipes, characters, kitchens and co-op madness. Bake, barbecue or broil with up to three other players in wireless local and online play modes. Save the world from clumsy cooking when the frantic food-juggler arrives on Aug. 7.
  • Killer Queen Black: Redesigned from the ground up, the acclaimed arcade extravaganza that became a multiplayer phenomenon is coming to Nintendo Switch. Players can hop on a snail, hoard berries or wipe out the enemy’s queen to claim victory for their team in Liquid Bit and Bumble Bear Games’ Killer Queen Black, when it launches first on Nintendo Switch later this year.
  • Hollow Knight: Venture through the beautifully hand-drawn, mysterious landscapes of a vast forgotten kingdom in Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight, an action-adventure filled with gripping combat and haunting secrets. Hollow Knight on Nintendo Switch also includes the new items, areas, characters and bosses from the currently released contact packs – all available today.
  • Octopath Traveler: Players can take another early look at Square Enix’s upcoming fantasy epic when the Octopath Traveler Prologue Demo arrives June 14 in Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. Play the demo, then use the save data transfer feature to carry your choices into the main game, once purchased, where players can live the stories of each of the eight travelers and freely explore the world of Orsterra. Octopath Traveler is scheduled to launch on July 13.
  • More great games are coming in 2018, including Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dark Souls: Remastered from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus from Bethesda Softworks, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate from Capcom, EA Sports FIFA 19 from Electronic Arts and Starlink: Battle for Atlas from Ubisoft, which includes characters and content from Nintendo’s Star Fox franchise that are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version of the game.

To celebrate E3 2018, Nintendo eShop will offer savings on select digital games that helped make some of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game’s fighters famous, as well as other great digital games on Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The sale kicks off on June 14 at 9 a.m. PT, and runs until 8:59 a.m. PT on Thursday, June 21. The full listing of digital games on sale will be posted to https://e3.nintendo.com/sale on June 14 at 9 a.m. and can be purchased directly from the website for download or in Nintendo eShop.

As always, people can keep an eye on https://e3.nintendo.com for all of Nintendo’s latest E3 updates, including today’s Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 and the final round of the Splatoon 2 World Championship, and lots of gaming details on Nintendo Treehouse: Live | E3 2018.

Remember that Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about other features, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/ or https://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

Game Shown:

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Nintendo crowns tournament winners, makes new announcements throughout the day

Nintendo crowns tournament winners, makes new announcements throughout the day

Nintendo finished the first day of the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles with two competitive champions and a host of bonus announcements that built on today’s Nintendo Direct: E3 2018 video presentation.

Nintendo crowned ZeRo of Chile the champion of the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 tournament. A longtime player of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, ZeRo defeated seven other top-ranked Super Smash Bros. players from around the world to successfully defend his title from Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Invitational in 2014. ZeRo emerged as the top player of the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game for the Nintendo Switch system. In the final match, ZeRo used Mario to defeat runner-up MkLeo of Mexico, who played as Sonic.

In both head-to-head and two-on-two matches, the tournament showcased new fighters like Ridley from the Metroid series and returning favorites from past games in the franchise.

In other competitive news, the GG BoyZ of Japan emerged triumphant at the Splatoon 2 World Championship. Made up of Taiji, etona, yamamicchi and Dynamon, the GG BoyZ inked their way to glory by defeating BackSquids, the German team representing Europe in the competition.

For details on the two tournaments visit: https://e3.nintendo.com/tournaments.

For fans who are excited to jump into new Splatoon 2 action for themselves, Nintendo revealed new details about the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion DLC:

  • The new Octo Expansion for Splatoon 2 launches on the evening of Wednesday, June 13. This first paid DLC for Splatoon 2 adds a new single-player mode that features 80+ missions, new stories and the ability to play as an Octoling for the first time. The full version of the game is required to use Octo Expansion, which will be available in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch for $19.99.
  • An amiibo three-pack of an Octoling Girl, an Octoling Boy and an Octoling Octopus are coming later this year.
  • Nintendo will continue to support Splatoon 2 with free updates to gear, weapons and stages through the end of 2018.

Today’s Nintendo Treehouse: Live | E3 2018 show was host to some additional reveals throughout the day as well:

  • New amiibo figures for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were shown for the first time. These figures, which included Ridley from the Metroid franchise and Inkling from the Splatoon franchise, go on sale at the same time as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Nintendo also confirmed that a Daisy amiibo figure was on the way.
  • Viewers got their first in-depth look at live gameplay of the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game for Nintendo Switch.
  • Viewers also got their first look at live gameplay for the Super Mario Party game for Nintendo Switch.

Finally, in a live-streamed presentation, Nintendo showed off world premiere gameplay of the Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! games for Nintendo Switch.

To stay up to date on all of Nintendo’s activities at E3 2018, keep an eye on http://e3.nintendo.com.

Games Shown:

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Fortnite is now available on Nintendo Switch!

Fortnite is now available on Nintendo Switch!

Jump in to be the last one standing in the free 100-player Battle Royale! Build huge forts. Outwit your opponents. And squad up together online with friends in the same room or around the world!

Features

  • BUILD & DESTROY – Shape the battlefield by building your own cover. Opponent hiding behind a wall? Take out their cover to get the edge.
  • GEAR UP – Board the battle bus and drop in on your favorite zone. Gather resources, collect gear, and battle your opponents!
  • SQUAD UP WITH FRIENDS – Team up online with your friends around the world or in the same room with local wireless play.
  • WEEKLY UPDATES & EVENTS – Updates constantly fuel the fun with new gameplay modes, outfits, weapons and items.
  • CROSS-PLAY AND CROSS-PROGRESSION – Link your Epic account to play with friends on other supported platforms and keep your Battle Pass progress, unlocks, items, and challenges.

If you would like to download this game for free, please visit https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/fortnite-switch.


Violence
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E3 2018: The Elder Scrolls: Blades brings the franchise to mobile with console-like quality

By Joe Robinson 11 Jun 2018

While Bethesda stopped short of just porting Skyrim to mobile platforms, they did announce that the iconic series would be coming to iOS and Android in a serious way with The Elder Scrolls: Blades.

It’s not just the fact that a TES RPG is coming to mobile though, it’s the fact that Bethesda are offering a console-like experience. As you know, we’re all about PC & Console games whole-heartedly porting to handheld, and Blades is another step towards that dream. If a game can’t be ported wholesale, then this will be an interesting experiment to see what can be done just shy of that.

Blades offers three gameplay pillars – a competitive PvP mode called ‘Arena’, a rogue-like endless dungeon experience called the ‘Abyss’, and then the main mode called ‘Town’. It’s not been made super-clear what Town actually is, but the premise is that your character returns home to find their hometown destroyed, and you need to go on quests and gather resources to rebuild it. This could be a full solo-RPG experience to the level of Skyrim et al, or it could be something just shy of that, but either way it’s exciting.

You can watch Todd Howard talk about the game in more detail in the conference video:

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The game will be a mix of hand-crafted and procedurally generated content, will feature the expected levels of character customisation and upgrades, as well being able to fight in melee, ranged or with magical attacks. The promotional material only showed 1v1 battles – perhaps a concession of what will be a slightly clunkier interface, although several interface styles were shown off, like the ability to play one handed.

You can pre-register via the official website if you’re an iOS user, or directly via Google Play for android. Touch Arcade seems to think the game will released on September 1st and will require at least iOS 10 or later. They’re also reporting it will be free-to-play with micro-transactions.

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Xbox using machine learning to load Game Pass titles ‘twice as fast’

Xbox has developed a new ‘FastStart’ tool that will let Xbox Game Pass subscribers jump into the service’s digital roster “twice as fast.”

The new feature uses machine learning to understand how people play, allowing it to identify which files are essential when starting a new game.

It then prioritizes the download of those all-important files, enabling Game Pass users to quickly jump into full-fidelity gameplay while rest of the download takes place in the background. 

“While FastStart does not speed up download times, by identifying which files are needed to begin gameplay and prioritizing the download of those files first, you can expect to jump into your game, on average, twice as fast as you did previously,” explains a post on the Xbox Wire blog.

“That means if a game previously took 30 minutes to download and play, you will now be able to begin gameplay after just 15 minutes. In addition, since FastStart takes advantage of machine learning, we will continue to improve our algorithm over time getting players into the fun as soon as possible.” 

Even with FastStart, games will still only download based on a user’s local bandwidth, so Game Pass subscribers will need a connection with at least a 20mbps download speed to make use of the new feature. 

FastStart will launch soon as part of the June update, and will initially only support a select number of popular titles, with more to be added over time.

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Daily Deal – Little Nightmares, 60% Off

Underhollow changes;
* When defeated, heroes now drop the 3 highest net worth items they are carrying. The remaining items are converted and dropped as gold for their sale cost.
* Significantly increased the amount of experience awarded for player eliminations.
* Fixed invisible Roshan killing players.
* Adjusted difficulty of a few combat encounters.
* Added an initial stock time to dynamite of 60s.
* Fixed heart being purchasable via its recipe.
* Added localization.

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Ninja Theory joined Microsoft to ‘fly without the threat of falling down’

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice developer Ninja Theory has explained why it decided to become a part of Microsoft Studios, claiming the move will allow it to “aim higher than we’ve ever dared, to really fly, without the threat of falling down.”

The Cambridge-based studio is one of five new additions to Microsoft’s first-party roster, with Undead Labs (State of Decay), Compulsion Games (We Happy Few), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), and new studio The Initiative rounding off the pack. 

Microsoft claims its new recruits will allow it to “take bigger risks,” and that also seems to have been the key selling point for Ninja Theory, which will retain full creative control over its own projects, while gaining access to Microsoft’s considerable resources. 

“When Microsoft approached us, it was totally unexpected and not something we were really looking to do,” explained creative lead Tameem Antoniades, in a video posted to YouTube. 

“Nevertheless, they asked us what our goals and ambitions were as a studio in an ideal world, and so we said we wanted to free from the triple-A machine and make games focused on the experience, not around monetization.

“We want to take bigger creative risks, and creative genre defining games without constant threat of annihilation. We want to make our own games our own way, and not be told what to make and how to make it, and above all we want to protect our team, our culture, and our identity.”

Although it sounds ideal on paper, the Ninja Theory team were aware they risked alienating some fans by linking up exclusively with Microsoft. 

“[The decision means] that our experiences will be focused on the Microsoft platform. We recognize that this will disappoint many of you, and that’s not something we take lightly,” added the studio’s commercial director, Dominic Matthews. 

“We’re now gearing up to bring you many more games, which just like Hellblade, will be ambitious, creatively different and unique in their own way.”